June 2007
Splashy Tech Spawns Water Rides Gnarly Enough for... →
Roller coaster connoisseurs tend to dismiss water rides as too slow, too tame, and too wet. But the next generation of splashy tech should make coaster snobs take a closer look.
Hospitals Nationwide Combat Employee Camera-Phone... →
A rash of incidents in hospitals across the country involving camera phones has led to firings — and the realization that monitoring the devices in clinical facilities is no easy task. A California hospital has fired nine employees who in April either took or looked at camera-phone photos of a patient’s X-ray.
Century-Old Quarantine Law Puts Patient Rights at... →
The first federal quarantine case in the United States in 44 years has galvanized debate over efforts to reform the nation’s century-old quarantine law, crafted before the civil rights movement, modern privacy and bio-terrorism concerns
Mr. BabyMan: Okay, HD-DVD or BluRay? Compelling arguments, please. (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Half Science and Hafnium Bombs →
In the latter half of 1998, a small clutch of researchers and students at the University of Texas embarked upon a groundbreaking experiment: Developing fist-sized bombs which can deliver destruction equivalent to a dozen tons of conventional explosives.
The Google dilemma →
I love Google. I trust Google with an inordinate amount of information. It hosts a blog for me, my primary e-mail account, my calendar, and numerous important spreadsheets — including one with my 2006 federal and state tax information. But could my love for this company be wrongheaded?
The Pirate Bay: One year After the Raid →
Today it’s exactly one year since the controversial raid on The Pirate Bay. Unlike the MPAA would have wanted, TPB is still online, more poular than ever. Let’s look back at last years events.
City Almost Loses 450K to Keylogger →
The city of Carson, California (a suburb of Los Angeles) was the target of a 6-digit theft of cash. The LA Times reports that information taken from a keylogger was used to attempt to steal $450K from the city’s treasury.
Blind Dogs Can See After New Treatment →
If two dogs are any indication, Iowa State University veterinary researchers may have found a cure for a previously incurable disease that causes dogs to go blind suddenly.
Claw Game with Live Lobsters! (PIC) →
On my recent backpacking trip through Asia, I came upon this claw game in Osaka, called sub Marine Catcher. For only 200 yen ($2) you can try your hand at winning a live lobster. I’m not really sure how you get the lobster home but there was a pile of newspaper nearby.
May 2007
YouTube Strikes Deal with EMI →
YouTube has struck a deal with EMI that will allow users to have EMI Record label music in their videos.While this deal should be a relief for YouTube, it’s reported that EMI still holds the right to request copyrighted content to be removed.
Malformed spam-fax ignites bomb panic at Boston... →
Cue Keystone Kops music.
Karen Allen Says She Has Never Been Contacted... →
Ever since it was announced that Shia LaBeouf would be playing Indy’s son in the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, rumors began popping up everywhere alluding to the fact that Karen Allen was asked to reprise the role of Marion Ravenwood. However, according to Allen, she hasn’t spoken to anyone about anything.
Verizon Increases Fee For NOT Making Long Distance... →
In case you weren’t aware, Verizon charges you a $2 fee for the “ability” to make long-distance calls. The only way to get this fee removed is to have your long-distance service blocked or to make more than $2 worth of calls every month. Sound stupid? Well, that stupid fee is about to double.
New York Assembly: selling violent games to minors... →
The New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would make selling violent video games to kids a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
New 160GB Apple TV a prelude to HD? →
Apple recently started selling an Apple TV with a 160gb hard drive, which makes us say; about time! But at the same time this got us thinking, why would you possibly need this much space in an Apple TV for, other than HD video?
ISPs Facilitate Filesharing, according to the IFPI →
ISPs facilitate the illegal swapping on copyrighted music on a grand scale according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). This is one of the 10 inconvenient truths about the music industry the Anti-Piracy lobby published today. Most of the other “truths” are simply not true of course, they are nothing more than cheap
Mr. BabyMan: ISPs facilitate filesharing, selling violent games a felony, and Karen Allen never contacted about Indy 4, in diggs: http://urltea.com/kt3 (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Murdered Russian spied for Britain, suspect says →
Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian agent murdered in London last year, was working for British intelligence at the time, the man charged by Britain with his murder alleged on Thursday.
The True Story of the Statue of Liberty →
Anyone who says one person can’t make a difference has never heard the story of the Statue of Liberty.
Mr. BabyMan: Late night video digg: The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo on the Gong Show, circa 1976 http://urltea.com/mh4 (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
MobiTV: TV on your cell phone →
MobiTV promises over 40 channels of television on your cell phone or smartphone. Ars Technica watches TV all over the place to see if MobiTV truly is must-see TV.
Marines Battle Bureaucrats and Plead for High-Tech... →
Conflict between the Marine Corps’ fighting troops and the bureaucrats in Quantico may be endangering the fighters. Critics say resistance to efficient purchasing slows the process, while the enemy builds roadside bombs and communications networks with commercial equipment.
Don't Look a Leopard in the Eye, and Other... →
It’s possible to work out effective countermeasures if your enemy sticks with specific tactics. But if your foe is a terrorist with the innate ability to think and adapt, things get a little more tricky. Commentary by Bruce Schneier.
Mr. BabyMan: @brianshaler be my guest. i think ive oversaturated my digg submissions for the day. (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Mr. BabyMan: FYI: Google Maps Street View of Digg Headquarters: http://urltea.com/nxm (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Jobs sheds new light on Apple iPhone at D... →
Apple Inc.’s iconic leader was cautious but still insightful during an interview at the Wall Street Journal event, explaining how the company is tackling Internet access, video, and the sensitive question of third-party software for the iPhone.
Listening Test Compares iTunes Plus to iTunes... →
Comparing these two compression rates was tough, even when using a pair of state-of-the-art Ultrasone headphones. In our decidedly unscientific comparison, we listened to all the tunes at both compression rates in A/B comparisons with those phones, with iPod stock earbuds, on our kick-ass car stereo, and on our reference Dolby 5.1 system.
Digg Users Acting Up Again? →
Strange strings of numbers and letters are starting to show up on the front page of Digg, the social news site. Confused but still scanning, we suddenly remembered the last time this happened…
How To: Use Firefox as a Windows file manager →
The great thing about this method is that all of Firefox’s tabbed bookmark and keyboard quick search tricks work just as well with file:// URLs as web site URLs.
Mr. BabyMan: Gahh!! I finally get the right sized replacement laptop battery, and it’s dead, and won’t hold a charge! (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Break.com To Charge Users? →
While there are sites that have a subscription-based service for premium content such as movies or sports games, Break.com will be the first of its kind to charge users.
Palm Foleo Unveiled →
Jeff Hawkins just dropped Foleo photos on us. It looks like it’s subnotebook sized, but its a smartphone companion, designed to make it a full computing experience.
Mr. BabyMan: Fired for Googling, Vista no more secure than XP, and a ‘living’ cyborg chip, all in today’s diggs: http://urltea.com/kt3 (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Cthulhu: Eater of Souls, Roaster of Dogs →
I really wanted a roaster that could hold more than one dog. After thinking about it a bit, dawned on me that some creature with tentacles would be perfect and easy enough to cut on roastmyweenie’s water jet based cutter. Then it hit me! Cthulhu! Perfect! Tentacled devourer of souls and bastion of chaos would be perfect for roasting dogs!
iTunes Plus Crashes Big-Time →
You’re probably eager to try the new iTunes Plus service, offering DRM-free 256kbps downloads for just 30 cents more than those old 128kbps tunes. You’re not alone, because the iTunes store appears to be brought to its knees with all the traffic.
Windows Vista no more secure than XP: report →
A new report blasts Vista, saying that it’s “equally at peril” compared to Windows XP. The report is instructive, but also contains some considerable flaws that show the difficulty of assessing Vista’s new security architecture.
Korea bows to US pressure, agrees to target P2P... →
The US and South Korea have just published the text of the proposed Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, and it shows that South Korea is prepared to take on peer-to-peer services and step up copyright enforcement on the Internet.
'Living' cyborg chip stores rudimentary memories →
Reportedly, a new experiment has shown that it is indeed possible to store said memories “in an artificial culture of live neurons,” which is a fairly significant step towards the “cyborg-like integration of living material into memory chips.”
TRANSFORMERS commercial that shows A LOT! →
Sure enough there’s a new TRANSFORMERS commercial that shows several new cool scenes and a bit of BUMBLEBEE’s voice.
Mr. BabyMan: You can’t win for trying: Last.fm sale on Digg homepage: http://urltea.com/ntz My submission, 3 hrs earlier http://urltea.com/nty (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
From Googling to firing? →
An employee recently argued that he was improperly terminated based on his employer’s Google search relating to his prior work background. Should such an argument stick?
Mr. BabyMan: A couple of notable Web 2.0 acquisitions just happened: Photobucket & Last.fm Check out the diggs: http://urltea.com/kt3 (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Mr. BabyMan: @1389 I have no Idea, but it’s the only way I can watch a movie, have Digg open, & have certain crucial sites open and visible at once. (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
The Top Ten Douchebags of Gaming →
ScrewAttack presents the top ten douchebags of gaming in this video, and no one escapes their wrath, from Wario to Superman, to the King from Sneak King. They call out general douchbaggery wherever they see it.You just knew Jack Thompson would make this list, right? However, the number one douchebag isn’t anyone you would suspect at all.
Amazing Wii Picture Browser Pixel Art →
This is how you make technology do your bidding. Or feed your obsessions. Or just waste a lot of free time.
WOW: CBS Acquires Last.fm for $280 Million →
I did not expect this one: despite ongoing rumors that Viacom would snap up the music site, CBS will announce today the acquisition of Last.fm for $280 million, according to a mail that just hit our inbox. The aim is to attract young people to the CBS brand.
MySpace Announces $250M Photobucket Acquisition →
This one was already a dead certainty, but MySpace is finally announcing the acquisition on Wednesday of Photobucket, for a price of $250 million. Peter Chernin will make the announcement at the All Things D conference
Mr. BabyMan: Just realized I need a *third* LCD Monitor to really effectively surf the web. (via Twitter / Mr. BabyMan)
Fantasy Keyboards and Mice for a Perfect World →
I recently discovered that you can buy a keyboard where each key is an individual LCD display. A completely blank keyboard is also on the market. At first I thought this meant that every possible input device had been created, but then I realized I was wrong.